As a sidetrip from Berlin in mid-September, we're intrigued by the idea of spending 3 or 4 days in Salzburg. We want to see the city but also want to get out of town and do some low-key hiking, and see some of the mountain resort towns. No car. Is this a feasible plan? Any advice on the best ways to get around, easiest destinations to reach, and where to stay and eat in and out of Salzburg? Thanks!

You can take a bus from Salzburg to St. Gilgen (less than 1 hr) on Wolfgangsee. Lovely area. You can then take a boat from St. Gilgen to St. Wolfgang and from there take a steam train to the top of Schafberg Mtn.

You could also take the train from Salzburg to Bad Ischl, a town made famous by the former Emperor Franz Josef.

http://euroalps.eu/countries/austria...st__gilgen.htm

http://www.wolfgangsee.at/en

http://www.badischl.com/

thank you, Bettyk. Our other thought is to fly to Munich and then head down toward Garmisch, Any thoughts re Munich and south as a destination vs Salzburg and environs? We probably wouldn't spend much time in Munich itself since we're assuming Oktoberfest will be madness (and maybe we're wrong about that).

3 or 4 days in Salzburg would be great. The bus system is great, and so is the train to areas further out. There is a Salzburg card that includes entrance to sites and bus transportation ( except the German bus to Berchtesgaden) It would be very easy to fill 3 or 4 days in the Salzburg area.

It sounds perfect! If anyone has hotel recommendations (less than $150 a night), that would be great.

We stay in the old town at either Hotel Wolf or Weisse Taube (next door to each other.) They might be a bit above your budget, but I think worth it for a short stay. Hotel Wolf considers Sept. high season and rates are about 110E - 215E. I believe Weisse Taube considers Sept. low season, and their rates are about 98E - 190E. We love both. Check tripadvisor.com for reviews.

If you decide to stay in St. Gilgen, I can highly recommend the Schernthaner Hotel. Frau Eisl treats you like family, the location is good and it's reasonably priced. We have stayed there twice and will be returning again in October.

http://www.hotel-schernthaner.at/sei...sh/index_e.htm

Hi CC,

I highly recommend http://www.ammoos.at/main.php?language=en&m=home%29

Get the Salzburg card
http://www.salzburg.info/de/sehenswe...card/index.htm

Enjoy your visit.

Agree with betty. If you decide to stay in a smaller town, St. Gilgen is great and the Hotel Schernthaner is perfect. It is a small hotel with the nicest owners. There is also a computer free of charge in the small lobby. Breakfast is good.
I'm not sure the cost of a double room but my single is 47€ per night. And I get a nice room each time-not the small single.

We have stayed at the Best Western Hotel Stieglbrau and been very pleased. We needed a "family room" and what we got was actually was a very large suite. It is centrally located, nice staff, good food and very affordable.

We have stayed at the Vier Jahreszeiten Hotel in Salzburg summer of 2008. It was a very nice small hotel a few blocks walk from all the shops. The rooms we had varied as we had 4 rooms (one was a suite). All the rooms were nice, some rather small. There is no a/c, but we had a fan and the windows all opened. Hopefully in September you won't need a/c.

I would recommend it. I don't remember what it cost, but I can't imagine it was costly. The room came with breakfast.

Hotel Stadtkrug and NH Hotel Salzburg are both good values though not in the Altstadt - which we we prefer as to being in the very center.

Day trips we have enjoyed are Berchtesgaden, Lake Koenigsee, St. Gilgen and St. Wolfgang.

We love Salzburg but also like Garmish and access to the Bavarian alps. They are quite different in atmosphere with Salzburg being more cosmopolitan and culturally rich and GP being more outdoorsy and casual as well as much smaller.

thank you everyone! If I may be so greedy as to pose one more question--any thoughts about Bad Reichenhall for the weekend? Would we need to rent a car to get to Berchtesgaden National Park to hike?

Hi, TravMimi--we did opt for the Hotel Wolf. It looks lovely. Thanks for the suggestion.